By Derek McLean, Town Correspondent
The Sabatier family of Wellesley will be on center stage at Fenway Park Friday night before the Red Sox game, honoring their late father’s legacy and sacrifices.
Vietnam veteran Army Specialist Charles J. Sabatier was left with a paralyzing injury in 1968 after taking a bullet to his back in combat, while saving the life of another soldier. He died in 2009, leaving behind his wife and his three 20-year-old children.The couple had triplets.
“He was the kind of guy that made decisions based on what he believed to be the right thing,” said Sabatier’s wife Peggy Griffin.
Joining the Sabatiers on the field will be Colonel Bruce Butters, who is a senior vice president and director of operations of the Folds of Honor Foundation.
“We salute the sacrifice of fallen service members,” said Col. Butters about the Folds of Honor Foundation.
The organization gives scholarships and other means of assistance to the families, including the Sabatier children. Charles, who attends the University of Richmond and Caroline, at American University, have both received college scholarships from the foundation and Danielle will be receiving one, when she attends Bunker Hill Community College in the fall.
Each child will receive scholarships for as long as they are in school. “Because of the sacrifices that he made for our country, this is just one way we can honor Charles Sabatier,” said Col. Butters.
“Anybody who has got a kid in college knows that the costs are just amazing,” said Griffin. “It has certainly been wonderful and the foundation has been great.”
The Folds of Honor Foundation has received large donations from Budweiser. The company donates $100 for every home run hit during the Major League Baseball season and $.05 for every case of specially marked patriotic cans they sell this summer. Budweiser hopes to raise $2 million for the foundation.
Charles’ name has recently been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. The ceremony took place on May 8th. His name is one of only five names added to the wall in 2011. “It has really been an incredible time for us,” said Griffin. Sabatier also won the Universal Transportation Accessibility Award from the US Department of Transportation, last July.
